


Power In My Hands

by irina67



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Dark, F/F, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-22
Updated: 2013-07-08
Packaged: 2017-12-15 18:35:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/852736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irina67/pseuds/irina67
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two days after the curse was broken, Emma Swan was on her way to Regina Mills' residence. As she walked her mind was occupied, worried about how Regina would react towards her and totally unaware that this would have to be the least of her concerns. Power In My Hands takes place at the end of season 1 and from there it spins its own story, without ties towards season 2.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everybody! I had the idea for this story for quite some time until I decided to write it. Main reason is because I am a huge fan of SwanQueen and because the series doesn't show any intention of pairing these two in this century *dramatic tears* 
> 
> Please have in mind that English is not my native language and I don't have a beta reader, so you will have to bear with all my mistakes. [I really hope they aren't that many xD Also if anyone is interested in being my beta please feel free to pm me. It would be really great! :3]. Apologies for Chapter 1 being kinda short. The next chapters to come are expected to be longer. Hope you like the story and don't forget to tell me what you think about it! Enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer (as always): I do not even dream of owning any of the characters in Once Upon A Time. On the contrary, in my dreams, Regina owns me :P Soooo yes, they aren't mine, I'm just borrowing them for a while and once I'm finished I will put them back in their box.
> 
> Main pairing: Regina Mills x Emma Swan
> 
> Rating: T (that will do for now :P)

****

**Chapter 1: Origins**

The curse was broken. Emma was repeating the same words again and again in her mind, like an incantation, a spell cast to prevent the world from reversing back to what it was for 28 years. Storybrooke. Ever since the young woman had arrived in the small town, she had found herself captivated by its charms, bonded with its people. Slowly discovering the secrets it held, one by one and a prophesy, one that she never accepted. Emma was not a woman to just believe in destiny and fate, she would strive and create her own destiny and she had proved it to be true till now, but in this particular situation she had been wrong. Because she had broken the curse after all and she had saved them all from a hopeless future and most importantly, she had saved Henry from death. And now they were all free, to reunite, people from Fairytale land who had lost friends and loved ones and among those, they had lost themselves too. Happiness had been out there now, at arm's length and they only had to reach for it. A new beginning.

For Emma there was the relief and the remains of the terror that still continued to shake her whole being, since the moment that she saw Henry's lifeless body on the sickbed. But it was all gone now, she was almost healed, although weirdly Emma felt like an outsider. A mere watcher. The happy ending had just arrived and everyone was about to see the end credits roll at the finish of the Storybrooke movie, but Emma felt unsatisfied. Bad ending. Disappointing, as if there was something missing, a hint that the happiness wasn't true. Just an illusion.

She walked at slow pace, without paying attention to her surroundings. Every now and then she would just check the road for passing cars and then robotically continue her march, deep in her reverie. She could have driven all that way in her trusty yellow bug, but she had decided not to. Because she needed to think and because she needed to prepare herself for seeing Regina again. She really felt the need to curse out loud for letting Henry persuade her. A short display of the irresistible puppyeyes at a still very sensitive Emma and the blonde had said yes too fast, even when she was far from ready to see her. Henry was worried and it had surprised her, because he usually did not show that much interest for his mother.

He had proposed an excuse, a pretty catchy one. Emma would pretend she went there to get his stuff. Truth was that Henry wasn't living with Regina anymore, even if Emma never really believed Regina to be a threat to the kid. After the latest incident that almost cost the boy his life, Henry had moved in with Emma and Snow, while all his possessions were at his former home, a place that nobody dared to approach for a long time now. It had to be Emma.

She stopped walking only when she stood right in front of the heavy white door, as if her mind suddenly registered that she had arrived. Emma took a deep breath and pushed her lips together, as she usually did whenever she had to gather her courage to do something. She hadn't seen Regina since the curse was broken, when the brunette had fled into the sanctuary of her home. The Savior being at the Evil Queen's house was totally not expected to be a happy reunion… And soon things were about to become really nasty. Only two days had passed and everyone was too busy gathering their memories and putting their lives together, but when the shock would settle down they would certainly go after the reason of their misery.

She didn't have to ring the doorbell. The door was open, just a slit but definitely open. Emma shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she reached for her gun. For a moment she got scared for the worst; an angry citizen of Storybrooke breaking into Regina's house to hurt her. She pushed the door with her boot, slowly, praying that it would not creak and entered the hall cautiously, the weapon at hand.

The image of Regina standing there, waiting for her, just like the spider waiting for her meal to get caught in the web, startled her. "Jeez, Regina you scared me!" she protested while returning her weapon back to its leather case on her side.

"Will you ever stop entering my home uninvited, Sheriff?" Regina said and crossed her hands in front of her chest.

"The door was open. I wouldn't enter like that, but I thought something had happened to you." Emma answered. "Glad to see that you are okay." She ended up almost whispering, impressed that her voice was audible at all.

Regina did not reply. Instead she wore that sour smile of hers, one that showed that even now that she had lost, she still had the pride to not show remorse. Emma's tongue was a knot, all these things that she planned on saying to Regina had disappeared from her mind. She could feel the brunette's eyes burn holes on her face, steel gaze that petrified the blonde. Emma didn't look away, nor spoke or moved. She only stood there, not with the air of the champion but with the air of the person who had just hurt someone while trying to save someone else and was almost regretting doing so.

Stop it! Stop being so naive! She deserved every single bit of it! The little voice inside her head was trying to prove to her what logic dictated, but there was something, something in the way that Regina looked at her, in the way that she was standing alone in that huge house when everyone else was celebrating, that made her feel guilty.

And the seconds passed, and Emma did not try to justify herself. Or say that she was sorry that things happened the way they did. They just stared at each other in silence until the blonde's knees became unable to support her weight. Emma collapsed in front of Regina and the tall white ceiling was the last thing she saw before she lost consciousness.

* * *

Emma found herself lying on hard stone, the cold emanating from its surface, passing through her thin clothes, chilling her to the bone. It was warm in Storybrooke, but the warmth had disappeared and so had Storybrooke apparently. Opening her eyes, she found herself on the floor of a huge room and she knew, just then, that Storybrooke was no more for her. This was a different world. She could see it, smell it in the air, hear its sounds. It felt unfamiliar and inviting at the same time. Wondering how long she was lying on the stone tiles, she managed to gather her body and stand up. Her strength seemed absorbed and a cocktail of fatigue and headache was giving her the urge to close her eyes and settle back on the floor.

The room around her had walls in a deep shade of gray, the stone was worn out from age but had character. Emma was sure that if these walls had mouth they would certainly tell the tales of glory passing from this place, printing a trail of pride and memories behind it. A painting was decorating the wall; a portrait of a rather old man which captured her attention instantly. The man's face looked kind and gentle and he had the warm smile of a tortured but forgiving man. A large built-in fireplace was right under the man's portrait, but there was no fire burning, just ashes of a previous fire. The room around her was clean, the place seemed inhabited but until that moment she had heard no other sound, no indication that there was someone else there with her.

The window was hidden behind thick curtains. Curiosity got the best of her and she pushed them aside to take a quick look outside. It wasn't hard to notice that the building she was in was quite higher than the area she could see. It was probably on a hill. Scratch that, it had to be a mountain, because she could see everything in a smaller scale, like a miniature of what existed out there. It gave the viewer the feeling of greatness and power, standing up there and watching the world at their feet.

It was certainly Fairytale land. And it was about time. Emma believed it was natural that once the curse no longer existed, they would all return to the place where it all started. In fact, many were already preparing for that in Storybrooke and they seemed quite disappointed that it had been delayed so much. But what was Emma doing in Fairytale Land anyway? She wasn't a fairytale character.

It was a more than a guess that she wasn't the only one that moved from one world to the other. Mainly because that would be really really weird. There was that possibility that she was still lying unconscious on Regina's floor and her mind was playing tricks on her. It all seemed so real though, that she strongly doubted it to be more than just a crazy theory.

Emma straightened her shirt and passed her fingers fast over the badge of sheriff that was proudly fixed on her belt. Reality or illusion, she had to find out exactly where she was and why she was there, but most importantly she had to see if the others were there as well. Her thoughts circling around Henry and his well-being. If she had changed world then so would he and she only hoped that he would be somewhere safe. If not for anything else, she had to search for her son. She turned around determined, ready to face whatever obstacle was waiting for her in this world, but her feet stopped instantly. She was not alone and definitely not prepared for what she was facing.

"Miss Swan, what a coincidence to find you here."

Emma's eyes opened up wide, as if the image in front of her was too large for her range of vision. The voice was so familiar but its tone was different, cheerful and distorted by the echo of the tall room and the stone walls. And the tone of the voice was the least of the differences that Emma could pinpoint. Regina in front of her was not the Mayor that she had known all this time. She was dressed in a no doubt expensive black long dress that reached all the way to the floor, her pointy collar standing proud and her cleavage exposed, a pendant hanging around her white neck. A black crown was sitting on top of her head, which gave away a weird purplish shine. But it wasn't the appearance that stroke Emma, it was the expression, the aura of authority that she never demonstrated in Storybrooke. The air of the woman in front of her made the Mayor Regina pale in comparison.

_The famous Evil Queen, flesh and bones. Amazing._

"Regina…"

Emma attempted a move towards the Evil Queen to find out that she couldn't move an inch. "What the hell?" she blurted as she made another attempt to move, pressing her limbs further, but nothing happened. Her eyebrows knitted into a confused expression as she turned towards the other woman with unanswered questions and then she noticed it. Regina was grinning; a wide grin full of smug satisfaction. In her eyes a purple shine glowing, burning in their depth, similar to the one emitted from her crown. Magic. _Fuck_.


	2. The color of death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!
> 
> The first two chapters are some kind of introduction to the main course of events. I must admit that writing chapter 2 was a challenge. Things are explained from Regina's point of view this time. Yet, I had so much fun writing it and I can only hope that you have fun reading it as well. Enjoy and don't forget to post a review! :3
> 
> Again a reminder that English is not my native language so apologies for all the mistakes you might notice.
> 
> Disclaimer (as always): I do not even dream of owning any of the characters in Once Upon A Time. On the contrary, in my dreams, Regina owns me :P Soooo yes, the characters aren't mine, I'm just borrowing them for a while and once I'm finished I will put them back in their box.
> 
> Main pairing: Regina Mills x Emma Swan
> 
> Rating: T (that will do for now :P)

****

**Chapter 2: The color of death.**

There was a rapid chain of events and what lasted for hours seemed to take only a few minutes off Regina Mills' life. It started with the news of Henry being at the hospital. News which had followed by panic and pain and an enraged Emma Swan all over Regina, assaulting her, forcing her to admit how it was all true, the curse, the fairytales even the Evil Queen. Next was a sword, Charming's sword and the dragon under the library, her old friend, slain. Followed by her sweet Henry lying motionless on the sickbed, breathless, lifeless. And there was despair and a suffocating emptiness. And then there was a kiss. Emma's kiss that brought her son to life and took him away at the same time. And just by that the curse was broken and the mayor was running away, when all she wanted was to feel her son's small body in her arms and tell him how sorry she was.

* * *

From the moment she entered her home she was restless, wandering from one room to the other, like a ghost. Her body acted like it had no needs. No need for sleep or eat. Her thoughts alone were fueling her, giving her enough energy to go on. Mixed feelings of depression and anger, swapping in an infinite loop. Regina had spent most of the time in Henry's room, touching his things, smelling his sweet scent whenever she hugged his soft pillow. That room had become her new source of sorrow, now that she knew that Henry would never return to her, and yet she always ended up on his bed, sitting in the dark with the memory of his smile.

There were moments that she could see Cora, so vividly, staring her right at her eyes and telling her how love is weakness. And still Regina had surrendered herself into this weakness. And once more she was glad that she had sent her mother through the looking glass, because Cora would make it crystal clear how disappointed she was and ashamed of what her daughter had become. But God knew, Regina had tried. She had become the reason for the misery of many. She had even killed her own father in an attempt to taste revenge and she had almost won. Almost.

In all Storybrooke there had been no one who dared to stand up to her. They all treated her with respect and a kind of unexplained fear, lowering their face whenever she had looked them in the eye. She was the mayor, the town's ruler and it had felt good. And all this was nothing compared to the joy when Henry was included in her life. She had everything, only because she had cursed them all. To not be happy, to never be with their true love, just like hers was taken away.

Storybrooke was a fresh start, and even if it was all created by a dark curse, Regina was more than willing to accept it as her new home. Her promised land. Whatever she had left back on Fairytale land, it had become a faint memory of an old life.

Now, 29 years later, the curse was lifted and it happened so fast and so easy that it almost felt ridiculous, considering what she had to sacrifice for it to work. Though, she should have expected it. From the day that Emma Swanhad stepped a foot in Storybrooke, Regina's life had gone to hell. She would hear whispers behind her back and suspicious eyes were following her everywhere. Henry had stopped trusting her. And there she was, the once powerful Regina Mills struggling to keep a balance in her life.

All because of Emma Swan. The seed of Snow White. The thorn on her side. The Savior. That audacious, cocky woman, intolerable and outrageous, who had the nerve to turn everyone against her. Emma could be described with many words but none was strong enough to tell what the blonde really was. She had destroyed whatever the mayor had built, ruined everything. Even Henry had almost died in Emma's place...

* * *

A whole day passed and the night fell and the next morning came. That morning she watched the sun rise from her study's window. On a different day she would have started preparing Henry's breakfast and then wake him up, help him prepare for school and go to her work. Only nothing of that happened. She had nowhere to go.

So she sat in her spacy kitchen, with her untouched cup of coffee in front of her and she finally allowed herself to cry. It felt all so confusing when her eyes shed tears of loneliness and sadness but her mind was picturing herself ripping their hearts out, savoring on their suffering as they watched her place their glowing organs carefully in these small wooden boxes, one by one. She knew that she was losing her mind and the fact that she was locked in her house was worsening her condition, but even losing it was more acceptable than seeing anyone at that moment. Because she might have desperately needed someone to tell her that it wasn't all lost, but none of the people who could say these words would have meant it. Not when they remembered everything and they knew well who and what she was.

And then she waited. If not anything else she knew the people of her town. The people she had cursed. They would be furious and they would want her head on a plate. But she wouldn't run again. Regina could feel that something was about to happen soon. There was a menacing atmosphere, like a strange premonition. So she got ready for whatever that was: angry citizens, her capture, her death, it made no difference. She cleaned her face from the tears, straightened her clothes and opened her front door. It was maddening, because she was not scared, but there was a certain tension and anxiety of what was about to come.

It didn't take long. Someone pushed her door open and when she recognized the blonde sheriff's figure she felt relief wash over her. Emma meant no threat for Regina anymore, for the simple reason that there was nothing else left for the Savior to take away.

"Will you ever stop entering my home uninvited, Sheriff?" _Or my life. And destroying everything at that._

"The door was open. I wouldn't enter like that, but I thought something had happened to you." Emma replied. "Glad to see that you are okay."

Regina almost winced at the blunt shameless lie. Emma Swan admitting that she cared. If anything else, she never expected the Savior to be such a hypocrite. If Emma ever cared about Regina she would have gotten inside that junk of a car she owned and driven away from Storybrooke. If Emma cared she wouldn't have stripped her of her most precious person in her life, Henry. If she cared she wouldn't have stood there as if nothing happened. Was she there to brag about how she had won? She could have expected anything from a winner, because that's what Emma was now.

The silence that followed was more than welcomed. Better the silence than having the blonde come up with more lies. Emma who never revealed why she was there, who gave Regina a look of moist and sad, as if she was understanding what the other woman was going through. It was obvious that she had come to offer her pity. The mayor managed to hide behind a smile, when on the inside she could feel the hatred consume every fiber of her existence. The woman opposite her was the daughter of her most hateful enemy. And she had underestimated her. Regina had considered every scenario till now, but in not even one she had foreseen Emma crashing her in such a way.

She wanted Emma out of her sight, out of her town and out of her damn world. For that single moment she mentally wished for the sheriff to just die, right in front of her, just as she was standing in her house, uninvited and hated. And gods must have been merciful with her, because suddenly Emma collapsed on the immaculate white floor and Regina's lips smiled and the smile became a grin and the grin a laughter, a loud deep laughter that was holding inside it hate and pleasure and madness, until it was her turn to collapse with that expression of dark satisfaction all over of her beautiful face.

* * *

Regina woke up on her bed, like the born royal she was. A different sleepy beauty. Only there was not a prince that woke her up. It was the bright blinding light that filled her bedchamber and hurt like a thousand pins through her eyes.

A short glance was enough to tell her where she was and truth was that she never wished to return there. Not even once in all these years she had missed her previous home. It brought memories that she had locked in a dark and isolated cellar, never to open it again.

This was Fairytale land. It looked and felt and smelled like pain. Scenes started unfolding one after another in front of her, memories coming out into the light from their hidden buried place, events that she would gladly delete out of her mind even if that would mean tearing her brain apart. There was mixed pain consuming her, from both worlds, pain of lost love and torturing and loneliness and now the loss of Henry and Storybrooke, all accumulating, unbearable, consuming her. She brought her hands to her head, which she could swear that was about to explode, because the emotional suffering had started to affect her physically and there, as she was sitting on large soft bed, she started screaming with all the capacity that her vocal chords allowed her.

And when the screams calmed down and the first wave of terror had passed, she allowed herself to feel what she had almost missed. That soft humming, vibrating into her body, a sensation that she hardly recognized was magic. And it was hope escaping pandora's box last, after all the evils of the world had burst out. Standing up, slowly and carefully, Regina tried it. It only took a thought and her nightstand was wrapped in purple smoke and was flowing, higher and swirling until with a simple flick of her wrist she threw it against the wall, becoming a pile of debris on the thick carpet.

There was a painful wave running her whole body when she did that, like trying to walk after spending many days motionless. But she wouldn't care because she had her magic back and it was all that mattered.

Minutes later, when the door of her chamber opened she was no longer the pitiful mayor of Storybrooke. She was the Evil Queen once again, dressed in her intimidating back dress with her crown on her head, powerful and confident and this time she knew exactly what she had to do. Two men and a woman were standing there, people who had been in Storybrooke and knew well who Regina was looking for.

"Storybrooke's Sheriff, Emma Swan must have returned here! Find her!" A small demonstration of her magic, the door of her chamber closing behind her with a wave of her hand was enough to persuade the people of what would happen if they didn't do what she commanded. "Move! Find her and bring her to me! Alive." And they ran. If not for finding Emma Swan they ran for their lives, because there was nothing more terrifying than that purple glow dancing in Regina's eyes. The color of death.

She did not wait. She started searching too. Teleporting from room to room, even when she felt her muscles tense as she did, as if her body was leaving a part behind every time she was porting. But it was fast, fastest than any running servant could go and that's why she found her first.

Emma Swan was standing in the room next to the main hall. There was a moment of sadness washing over her when she saw her father's face on that portrait on the wall. She let her gaze rest for just a moment on his characteristics, before pushing the feelings as far away as she could and she concentrated on the woman who was staring out of the window.

"Miss Swan, what a coincidence to find you here." Regina could hardly contain the excitement in her voice. Of all the places in Fairytale land where Emma could have landed, it had to be Regina's castle. How convenient.

Emma's face became the surprise. Her eyes looked as if they would soon pop out and Regina could only take pleasure at that reaction. Because soon Regina became the cat and Emma the trapped mouse, as the Evil Queen only imagined black steady straps wrapping around the blonde's slim body, immobilizing her. And it happened as easy as she pictured it, because Emma was now struggling to escape Regina's magic bonds and the brunette guessed her powers to have increased. Never before magic came so easily to her, so natural. If only there wasn't that curious pain rushing through her body.

Ignoring any disturbance, Regina grinned as images of torturing the blonde filled her mind, things that she wouldn't dare do in Storybrooke but this was no Storybrooke and there were no stupid laws, only a sheriff who was now in her property.

"Throw her to the dungeon." she ordered the guards – properly clad in their leather armors this time - that appeared behind her, as if they had responded to a silent call.

"Regina! What are you doing Regina! You can't do this!" Emma screamed as the guards grabbed her and only when Regina was sure that they held her she released her magic.

"Oh, but I can. Trust me you will enjoy my hospitality. They all did." The voice changed from a sort purring sound to a dangerous tone that made the temperature of the room drop vertically.

"Regina! Please don't do this! You can change! I know there is good in you. You can't win this time. Evil never wins."

Regina did not reply. She could have said so much, making a long debate on how evil could win against good and on how she could crash them all if only she decided on it, but she did not. Because she had to think. She had to plot and she had to prepare.

"You crazy bitch! Are you out of your mind? Hey! Put me down, you assholes!" Emma was raging at both Regina and the guards, who already were dragging her towards the exit of the room. The sheriff's voice loud and panicked.

Regina only moved her hand, a gentle wave towards the Sheriff's direction and suddenly the shouts stopped. The woman was trying all she could to make a single sound but even when her lips moved there was absolute silence.

"Miss Swan, you are terribly loud. Didn't your mother teach you not to squeak like that in front of a queen? You give me headache." Her face changed, as if she remembered something before she continued: "Oh, how forgetful. You grew up without a mother. And I shouldn't expect a child of a foster system to know of proper manners, right Miss Swan?" and without another look, she turned her back to the muted blonde as the guards took her away. The brunette didn't have to look to know how Emma's face had hatred written all over it. A sharp look outside her window made her grin fade. The day was already halfway, the sun shining bright under a clear blue sky, a weather that was far different than Regina's favorite one. _Disgusting._


	3. Long live the Evil Queen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello once again! I'm back with a new chapter which is da bomb :P There's not much to say, only that I ended up feverishly working on it. I really hope you like it. 
> 
> Reminder: English is not my native language and I have no beta reader, so apologies for all the mistakes you might notice.  
> Disclaimer (as always): I do not even dream of owning any of the characters in Once Upon A Time. On the contrary, in my dreams, Regina owns me :P Soooo yes, the characters aren't mine, I'm just borrowing them for a while and once I'm finished I will put them back in their box.
> 
> Main pairing: Regina Mills x Emma Swan
> 
> Rating: M (finally!)
> 
> Enjoy and don't forget to tell me what you think about it ;)

**Power In My Hands - Chapter** **3: Long live the Evil Queen.**

Time stood still for Emma, locked in a cell inside a dungeon buried deep under the surface. It was a place never reached by sunlight. No way to tell if it was day or night.

Her cell was typical. Small, dirty and humid, just like a dungeon cell should be. Torches fixed on dark stone walls and all kinds of creatures marching by, from worms and cockroaches to squeaky rats. The floor was simple earth, a thin layer of straw covering it, along with remains of the cell's previous residents. Decomposing rags and a few random pieces of -what Emma with horror guessed to be- human bones sticking out of the dirt. More straw shaped a mound in the corner that was used as bed. A scent of decay and death everywhere. There were more cells, many more cells, but they were empty. Or at least they seemed empty, because no sound was coming from there. Something told Emma that these cells wouldn't remain empty for long, especially now that the Queen was on crack.

Not much was going on. The only motion was due to the watchman rotation under the flickering light of the torches. There were more guards furthermore, she could hear their voices or their heavy boots on the stone slabs as they walked, but only one guarded her. During the shift change, a few words exchanged between the men, the old watch leaving and the new taking his place, a few meters away from Emma's position. Everything taking place under the blonde's hawkish stare, paying attention to every detail. Her voice had returned right after the first guard rotation, and the blonde was glad. Not because she had the freedom of speech with any of the guards, but because you always miss something the most when you don't possess it anymore.

Her next watch seemed a bit less threatening than the two previous ones. He was around Emma's age, thin figure and dark blue eyes. Quite handsome. He didn't seem the type of warrior to the prisoner, especially when he didn't growl or swear when she smiled at him. She always tried to appeal to their male side, but it never worked. Not that they could actually see much. The cell was so dark that maybe all they saw was a white Cheshire-cat smile behind the metal bars.

"Why do you do what she asks?" Emma had her head against the cage, her eyes following the man as he walked past her, to light the torch fixed up on the wall. "Are you scared of her so much?" A far aimed shot, a risk she had to take.

"Shut up." He said, without even sparing her a glance, the lit torch on his hand raised to share its fire with the one that was off.

"You can help me escape. I can take you with me. Snow White is my mother. She can give you sanctuary. You and the rest of the people that she forces to serve her."

"Shut your mouth! You have no idea what you are talking about!" he said clenching his teeth as he turned around, his one hand firmly grabbing the bars of the cage, the torch illuminating both of them and all Emma saw was a tortured man.

"I know how you all suffer under her tyranny. Is it really worth it? Spending your life in here? Like her slaves? You  _have_  to help me."

"Listen, Sheriff." It was so cold, yet his forehead was sweaty, shining under the fire's light. He sent a cautious look over his shoulder before resuming his words. "If I don't do what she wants then I'm a dead man. She has my heart. She has the hearts of most of us. One wrong word, one wrong action and we kiss life goodbye. You have no idea what she is capable of. So sit in your cell and stop playing hero. You were the Savior in Storybrooke, but not here." And with that he returned to his post, completely ignoring Emma's attempts for further conversation. It was that moment when Emma remembered why he looked so familiar and who he was in Storybrooke. He had been Regina's tailor.

When it was time for him to give his position to the next one, he sent the blonde a single glance and while what he saw of Emma was just an outline of her figure hidden in the shadows, she could clearly see his face, his eyes which held sympathy but also so much fear.

* * *

There was no food. Why there was no food? In all the movies, the captors feed their prisoners. Okay, they beat the shit out of them first, but when they throw them in their prison they also toss them a dirty plate of food. It was in all the movies! And for sure Emma wouldn't protest about how dirty her food was. Would Regina really intent to let her starve? She really would expect something more creative than that from the Evil Queen…

Emma took a more comfortable position on her  _oh so luxurious_  hay bed and rested her back on the wall. Her stomach was growling so loud that she was sure that even the guards would be able to hear them. As she wrapped her hands around her tortured empty and protesting stomach she cursed the moment that she had ignored the breakfast that Mary Margaret had prepared for her.

The guard on duty was again a taller version of Grumpy. Whenever she had tried to talk to him, ask for food, he had replied with a sound that wasn't even words. This led nowhere. There was only one solution. She had to try an escape but how was that even possible when the whole passage was guarded by Regina's soldiers? Not even counting the guard dog always outside the cell.

The feel of something small crawling on her hand made her lift it closer to her face, to take a better look of what exactly it was. A rather large dark beetle, was standing on the back of her hand.

"Hey little fella." She said and she dragged her finger over the insect's back, the beetle not running away. "You are the only one that stays and actually listens to what I have to say." Any other woman would have squirmed and/or screamed at the idea of a bug on their skin but Emma had no such issues. In fact insects were dear friends of the blonde when she was younger. They never failed to scare foster mothers or cause panic in a family dinner, when they oh so elegantly escaped the salad bowl and made their way on the tablecloth, good diversion giving enough time to Emma to run away. "If only you could get me out of here. Or bring me a big juicy cheeseburger and fries." Emma moaned at the thought of that. "Before I end up seeing you as a juicy delicious meal..." she laughed at the thought. "And here I am talking to a bug. Makes sense though, right? If you remember Snow White was talking to the birds and animals in that Disney movie. And she's my mother." Her finger gradually stopped. Snow White and Charming. Her parents. She already missed them. But not as much as she missed Henry. Where would they be now? There was a possibility that they didn't come through. That they stayed in Storybrooke. In any case, Emma only wished for them to be safe.

As about Regina, Emma didn't see her ever since the time of her capture. That time when Regina acted like she was someone else. Like possessed by some crazy evil spirit. Emma rose on her feet and started walking up and down. Funny thing considering how small her cell was. Two steps, turn around, two steps, turn around and again. Feeling blood flowing through her limbs was pleasant though and it helped her think. Of her family. Of Henry. Of Storybrooke and of Regina. And what had changed inside that woman. And all that pacing, apart from making her dizzy, ended up with the conclusion that if she wanted to find a solution in all this, she had to think like a character from Fairytale land and not like a bail bondsman from Boston.

The solution that came up first, the only solution that she could think of, that actually made some sense, was bold and venturesome, but no matter how insane it seemed there was some logic behind it. Because she cared about Regina more than she could ever admit. Because she knew that somewhere deep inside the Evil Queen there was good, even if it was just a tiny flake of it, surrounded by anger and hatred and rage. And maybe that, just simply that, could be the ingredient for what they called  _true love_.

* * *

Emma and bars had history. She knew what she had to avoid if she wanted to pass unnoticed and what was required if she wanted all the attention on herself. Now was the time for the latter. So she picked up her ever-empty plate and started banging the bars with the rhythm of the song in her head, accompanying the music with some evenly loud shouts, the noise deafening as it echoed all the way through the dungeon's passageway. If she had to make a fuss, she should at least do it with style.

*bang bang bang* "Another one bites the dust!" *bang bang bang* "Another one bites the dust! Aaaand another one gone, and another one gone -"

The guard shouted a curse and something else that Emma couldn't hear - busy singing her lungs out and all- and walked angrily towards the prisoner, who was prepared and when he opened the door, she slammed her knee into his stomach with all the fury that she could master. He folded in half, moaning and searching for something to hold on to and support himself. Emma tried to run, ignoring her initial plan momentarily, but when she passed past him, his hand grabbed her and threw her down. Then he approached her, towering over her as she laid on the floor. Emma's foot and his nuts met, twice, and he fell down, roles reversed and it was Emma standing over him now and when he showed an attempt to get up she knocked him on the face with the plate she still had in her hand, leaving him unconscious at her feet.

"Another one bites the dust." she sang out of breath, looking at what remained of what used to be a clay dish, shattered now by the impact with the man's head.

When the second guard came towards her, she knew that her plan was put into action. The only  _minor_  downside was that this one was a huge, bulky man who with a push threw her back inside her prison and followed her there. One hand was more than enough, thick fingers fast reaching out for Emma's throat, surprising the skilled blonde with his swiftness, despite his volume. He held her against the wall and lifted her without effort, both her hands grabbing his arm, her feet kicking him but he his body was like granite. Impossible to hurt, impossible to budge. Emma's air was becoming less by the second.

"Smart little rat are we? Let me show you what we do to vermin like you." He smiled, revealing two broken teeth on the front, his breath stinking of tobacco. His free hand wandered on Emma's side, dangerously close to her breast. If she wasn't in a really uncomfortable situation, Emma would laugh at the irony. When nobody seemed to be attracted by her charms till now, this one  _had_  to be interested. Emma groaned as he lifted her shirt and his hand sneaked under the cloth, dragging on her skin and she resumed her kicks with more menace now. Her face already starting to turn into a really unhealthy shade of blue.

"I doubt this is the right way to treat a princess." a voice behind him said and Emma rolled her eyes in frustration. It  _was_  about time.

The man froze, he dropped Emma instantly and turned around to knee in front of the brunette, his eyes fixed on the ground. Regina waved her hand towards the wall and suddenly the room was illuminated, the torches giving out triple the intensity that they naturally did.

"What took you so long?!" Emma managed to say, her hands rubbing the bruised skin around her neck, but her eyes roamed all over the Queen's appearance. Regina was dressed in midnight blue and unlike the previous time, it was not a dress. There was a vest, embroidered with glittering blue thread just one tone lighter, highlighting a generous cleavage that Emma found it hard to not stare at. Accompanied by a suiting coat, so long in the back that it brushed against the dirty ground and short in the front, revealing a black leather pant hugging Regina's firm hips and knee high lace up boots. If not anything else, Emma had to admit that woman  _had_  taste. Sexy-deadly-evil-powerful-villain kind of taste but nice taste nevertheless.

Regina ignored the blonde and waved again and the man was forced to stand up, fear written all over his face, watching the Evil Queen walking towards him. That didn't look good. Not good at all. That was  **not**  part of the plan!

'Regina, it's okay! He didn't really do anything!" Emma shot up but Regina didn't bother with the blond's protests. Not yet. Regina took her time, moving at slow pace. Momentarily, the brunette's attention was directed on the unconscious guard, a mere obstacle blocking her way. Her lips moved and she whispered, his form shrinking and turning into a cockroach that she casually crashed under her boot as she resumed her way towards the other man. Who was now whimpering, tears streaming down his cheeks and pleading for his life.

'What the fuck Regina! Why did you do that?!" Emma yelled, her breath ragging in her chest, her whole body trembling. Did she have just seen Regina murder a man in cold blood? And the other man's future didn't look so bright either.

"It's  _ **Your Majesty**_  for you, Miss Swan!" the Queen snapped at the blonde, her hand now caressing the man's cheek, nails lightly scratching his rough skin. "Did I order her hurt?" She asked him. A rhetorical question. His eyes wide open, watching the overwhelming view of the Evil Queen, her expression merciless and greatly displeased. "Did – I – order – you – to – hurt – her? I am absolutely sure I did not."

The man was crying, Emma was shouting and Regina smirked, her hand leaving the guard's face and nonchalantly trailing south. The smirk widened as she reached his chest, taking pleasure in every single moment and Emma knew that it was time. It was all or nothing. She gathered what was left of her courage – one would expect a Savior to have endless supplies of that - and beamed towards Regina. The surprise flashed over Regina's features, but was easily camouflaged. Not that Emma was looking anyway. Her lips were pushed against Regina's, her eyes shut, while her mind was occupied, collecting memories of the brunette's rare displays of kindness. Searching for a reason, any reason that could result in Emma loving not the Evil Queen but Regina, the simple woman that hid behind a veil of titles, magic and power. In what was only a single moment, there were pictures of Regina genuinely smiling, Regina with tears in her eyes, Regina holding  _their_  son, Regina facing everyone's rejection, Regina pushed aside. And a pray for the kiss to work, because now Emma finally believed.

None of them seemed to remember the man who, still on his knees, was dumbfounded, watching that woman who was prisoner - and a princess and the Savior - kiss the Evil Queen.

Regina didn't react, she wasn't even drawing away from the kiss and Emma felt waves of unspeakable joy only at the thought of exorcising Regina's demons. And then she felt it. Soft and low at first and then gradually strengthening with every second, the sound of Regina's laughter without even separating her lips from the blonde's. Emma opened her eyes, surprised to find her vision wet and blurry, and made two step backwards, hopelessly watching the Queen's amusement at what ended up to be a complete failure.  _True Love's kiss my ass!_

"Oh, Miss Swan" the Evil Queen purred when her laugh stopped, "You call that a kiss?"

Emma watched, her breath caught up in her lungs as Regina  _floated_ , her feet hardly touching the ground and brought herself in front of Emma. A hand came under Emma's chin, a finger pushing it gently upwards, lifting it slightly, bringing their mouths at same height. Regina grinned and Emma could feel her body immobilized as she waited for the unknown.

She was scared and she knew that she was supposed to be scared. It was only natural when she was facing new dangers, new variables defining the game, which included magic powers and an insane Regina who was so close to her face now, that she could feel her hot breath on her skin. And was about to kiss her.

And when she did, Regina's lips were so soft, hardly touching her own, a tease of a devil that Emma almost felt like offering herself to. But soon, what was a soft brushing became rough collide of their mouths and a tongue flicked out, passing over Emma's lips who, under the weakness of the flesh, opened her mouth just a tiny bit, enough for Regina to grab the opportunity and bite down on the blonde's bottom lip.

Emma's shout of pain overcame Regina's giggle. Without giving the blonde enough time for her mind to process what had happened, the Queen magically threw Emma at the wall and without sparing her a second glance, she turned to the man and dag her hand deep in his chest, his face a picture of shock and terror.

"No! Regina No!" Emma screamed and the moment that the words left her mouth was the same moment the brunette's hand left his chest, holding his heart. It was glowing, as if empowered by Regina's magic. Nothing matched the dark pleasure in the Evil Queen's characteristics. Oh, how much she had missed all of it, the power, the magic, the despair and the terror, the tears and begging of the man, once strong soldier but now weaker than a small girl.

"So, dear, what do you think I should do with this?" she asked and showed her trophy to the blonde. Emma felt like she was starring in a horror movie. One where everyone died, even the main character, all except the bad guy.

"Regina, please... please put it back." she asked. It was a moment for negotiation.  _Put it back? Was that even possible?_

"Didn't I say that you will call me Your Majesty?!" the Queen shouted and squeezed the heart enough for the man to drop on the floor, writhing in pain.

"Yes, your Majesty." Emma corrected and fell on her one knee, doing whatever seemed right in order to save the man but seems that was not what Regina wanted after all.

"That is what you always do, don't you?" Regina's voice was low, creepy, full of disgust. "You always try to play superhero, the great Savior of everyone! You even put yourself so low and obey me, when I know that you hate me, you all do! You call me your majesty and show me fake respect, fake faith and for what? To save that worthless life! Well know that you will not win this time." She walked past the man to Emma, to look deep into the blonde's green eyes and hissed. "In fact you will never win again. None of you will…" She brought the heart into Emma's vision, right in front of the woman's face and squeezed harder and harder, the man's shouts ringing in her ears, until the heart was a pile of dust in Regina's palm and the man was dead. And when the last granule of what used to be a heart left the hand and met the ground, the brunette dragged a finger on the prisoner's bleeding lip and then brought it in her mouth, tasting the blood of the Savior, the blood of her enemy.

"Guards!" The Queen yelled and guards were summoned, as if they were just around the corner, waiting for her call. "Feed her! And if I ever see anyone of you touch a single hair of hers, I will send you to meet your friends." She kicked the guard's dead body and walked towards the exit of the prison.

"Where are you going! You can't keep me here! You have no right! Regina! REGINA!"

"If you don't want to be muted again, I would advise you to keep your tone down. And to your info… all the crap about true love kiss won't work on me. Because even if, in your poor little mind, you perceive your feelings towards me as  _ **love**_ , then know that for a True Love's kiss to work the feelings must be mutual. And I don't love you Miss Swan. I despise everything you are, everything you stand for and the only reason that you still breathe is because I am going to use you to get what I want."

"Henry…" Emma muttered, now locked back in her cell, staring at the Queen walking away, her fingers gripping the metal bars so hard that her knuckles turned white. "Is he here? Did they come here? Tell me! Please tell me!"

But Regina was already gone and with her, gone was the bright light, the dungeon returned to it's previous level of dim luminosity.


	4. What lies beneath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everybody!  
> I am back with a new chapter for this story. I must admit that torturing Emma is fun. You will find out what I mean soon enough :3
> 
> Reminder: English is not my native language and I have no beta reader, so apologies for all the mistakes you might notice.
> 
> Disclaimer (as always): I do not even dream of owning any of the characters in Once Upon A Time. On the contrary, in my dreams, Regina owns me :P Soooo yes, the characters aren't mine, I'm just borrowing them for a while and once I'm finished I will put them back in their box.
> 
> Main pairing: Regina Mills x Emma Swan
> 
> Rating: M (definitely this time hehe)
> 
> Enjoy and if you feel like it, you can leave a review and tell me what you think ;)

** Chapter 4: What lies beneath **

A hidden passage. A narrow staircase descending into the depths of earth, swirling all the way down until there was nothing to see, the darkness covering everything with an endless shadow. The deeper the way went, the more the voice of the world faded away until it became a whisper and then silence, disturbed only by the soft sound of naked feet against cold stone, cautiously walking down the staircase. And deeper the stairs proceeded until there was light, first a single dot of bright that grew size with every step, that eventually transformed into an entrance to a cavern.

The cavern was small, some kind of secret light source illuminating the area. In its center, two women, idle standing. Avoiding the other’s gaze. Heavy atmosphere surrounding them, the air thick with despise.

The one, Regina Mills, mayor of Storybrooke, Henry’s adopted mother. Dressed in a coal gray power suit, showing off every curve of her body, hands dug in the pockets of her jacket, hair shoulder short. A symbol of self-control, spotless, manipulator, a true politician.

The other, Regina the Evil Queen, responsible for considerable suffering and sorrow. Her hand gracefully holding a glass of a dark red liquid - which one would pray to be wine. Her hair long, plaited in a striking bun, dark tiara on top of her head and a long purple dress that enhanced the air of authority that she gave off. She stood with elegance, her stature giving away that she grew up as a royal, a look in her eyes saying that she never tolerated to be denied anything that she desired.

They gave no sign that they were aware of being watched. Both acting as if they hated to look at their companion and still their gaze always ending on the person, like staring into a twisted mirror. One person, two forms and yet, deep down to the core both were similar, driven by anger, revenge, hunger for power, possessiveness and wounded love. Nothing of which ever got on the surface, all constantly hidden with mastery under shapely convenient masks.

“When I look at you” It was the Queen, speaking as if resuming an old conversation they never finished “I see nothing but a weak representation of my glory and my power.” A sip from her glass followed and a pause, as if stopping for a moment to appreciate her drink. Her side turned to the mayor.

“I doubt _you_ have any right to talk about weakness.” The mayor replied, her voice dripping with venom. “I’m not the one who mourns about a dead fiancé for so many years. Enacting a curse with the single purpose of revenging his death. All for Daniel, a simple stable boy.”

“How dare you! Don’t you **ever** put his name in your mouth again! Nobody can truly appreciate what he really was! Unless sleeping with your sex slave was better than genuine pure love…” was said in an equally dangerous tone.

“Our sex slave dear. Don’t forget that it was you who made him your toy first.” The Mayor corrected with a smirk.

“How accurate. I was just playing with him. I didn’t _need_ him to remind me how it feels to be a woman. How it feels to be desired.”

“Shut your mouth”, the Mayor said, anger accumulating in her. “Say one more thing and you’ll regret it.”

“So weak” the Evil Queen continued, “running after men that don’t care, feeling so much love for a child that is not even hers… pitiful…” Another sip, ignoring the mayor, her eyes half closed enjoying her drink.

“Don’t you even dare say anything about Henry!” the mayor shouted, her hands into fists.  “What do you know about love eh? Daniel only loved what you were. If he knew what you have become then he would despise you, he would be afraid of you just like everyone else!”

“Lies! Daniel loved me! HE LOVED ME!” the Evil Queen threw the glass at the wall behind the mayor. The mayor who didn't even blink when the glass flew past her, hair flowing at the motion of the object, wine spilled all over the clean suit, the hair, the face, before shuttering into countless pieces.

“You ripped your own father’s heart out. Who could have done that to their father? You disgust me.” The mayor said with a low voice, something lurking in it, waiting to be unleashed.

A flash across the Queen’s characteristics, a low glow stirring in the depth of her eyes was enough for the silent viewer to make a step backwards in panic. The presence of evil filled the cavern and a hint of insanity, the type that only the deepest wounds can cause. Followed by the sharp sound of flesh against flesh, hand against cheek. The Queen slapped the Mayor in what appeared to be fractions of a second, because the rest of it was spent with the Mayor paying back in the same coin, her strike even harder on the Queen's face.

A scream was heard, not the type caused by pain but the type caused by rage, as the Mayor Regina assaulted the Queen, fingers dag in the perfect bun, pulling down her head while the Queen grabbed whatever came into her vision, ripping the jacket, buttons broken off the shirt, the sounds of torn fabric covered by groans as they struggled to overpower the other.

Nails dug into flesh and hands dragging and teeth gritted as they pulled and pushed and the Mayor which seemed to be more fierce than the Queen and stronger, threw the other down, into a tousled mix of wild hair and a face showing anger and pain together, her dress spread all over the ground. Then there was the Mayor, practically jumping on the Queen and hands clenching arms, and knees bending, trying to hurt the opponent in a fight which didn't seem to stop as they rolled and exchanged in turns the position on top and again a roll and again.

The watcher, Emma, experienced all disturbing kind of emotions while she gazed at the two women fight in front of her. At her feet. When all this time she had kept her distance from them, she suddenly found herself standing over that groaning skein of limbs punching, hitting, kicking, entangled into a dirty pile of bodies twirling on the ground. Fighting the urge to separate them.

“ENOUGH!” the Queen shouted, all movement stopping, her voice echoing through the passages that led away from the cavern.

_'Enough. Enough. Enough.'_

Before the echo of her voice faded away, another sound came to join it. The sound of magic, generated by the purple aura that wrapped around her hand. Something between the rigid sound of an electrified cable's naked end against water and the soft cracking of burning wood. The same aura that sent the Mayor to the other side of the cavern, into a very much painful impact with the wall.

Emma could swear that the impact was accompanied by the sickening sound of breaking bones, but the sight of the Mayor fast standing on her feet again made her doubt if it was real or in her imagination. A glimpse of hope appeared on the Mayor’s face, seeing how – unlike Storybrooke - magic was possible there. So she lifted her hand and aimed at the Queen, but nothing happened. Then again and again but the result remained the same. She looked disappointed at her hands and a deep laughter coming from an amused Queen, made the Mayor glare at her.

“And this is why you will never achieve what I have. My true power. Allow me to demonstrate my superiority in all its glory.” The Queen said, voice loud and steady, attacking now the Mayor without effort, only a simple wave with her hand enough to make the other woman fly from one side of the room to the other. Assaults precisely aimed. Screams of agony and torment escaping the bloody lips of the once perfect looking politician. But the mouth wasn’t the only place coated with blood. There was blood everywhere, on the clothes, on her flesh, on the rocks that formed the walls, places where the Mayor had crashed on. Even on Emma's face and clothes, when she happened to be close to the Mayor when a powerful magic force came crashing on the woman. Emma couldn't move. Her feet had turned into roots, spreading, digging in the ground, keeping her immobilized, when she wanted to run, as far as she could, as fast as she could.

The Mayor was still standing up though, fighting with all her life force against powers far greater than she could win against. Until she didn’t seem to have the strength to get up again. So the Queen walked to her, bended down and fisted what was left of the shirt the Mayor wore, lifting her to the same height as hers, this time not attacking. Her other hand grabbed the Mayor’s jaw, squeezing the perfect cheeks that now were bruised and bloody and stared into the eyes of the defeated. Another victory for the Evil Queen. 

“You're weak. I should kill you, right here. Get rid of you for good.” The winner declared, words spoken effortlessly, nothing in her voice revealing that they had just gone through a fierce fight moments ago.   

“Coward.” The Mayor muttered between clasped lips, never going down even now, she stared back, taunting the Queen. “You would never go that far would you? Your majesty…” The Mayor was panting, but she still played with the woman, tempting her, teasing her. The Queen’s face came closer, sniffing the blood on her, her hands clenching harder, nails digging into flesh, unable of what to decide, of what to do. Until the Queen let out something between a furious growl and a moan and pushed herself ahead on the face between her fingers, meeting it in a kiss that was the embodiment of triumph forced on the lips of the defeated Mayor.

“Woah! Easy there with the… that thing you do… there…” Emma’s words faded at the view, she was practically gawking at them, mouth open, eyes wide. She couldn't remember how to move, couldn't remember how to breathe anymore. At the sound of her voice, the kiss was disrupted and both the women – widely grinning - turned their attention towards the blonde, who gulped, shivers running down her spine at the twin grin in front of her.

“How could I ever kill her?” The Queen asked, her hand letting go of the Mayor’s jaw and caressing her cheek, her other hand’s fingers trailing, circling on the exposed skin on the other woman’s chest and further beneath the ripped shirt. The Mayor’s hands moved up on both sides of the Queen’s waist, moving, touching, groping. ~~~~

 “In the end…” The Mayor said with a voice highly seductive, almost purring and she was talking to Emma, even if her eyes were fixed back on the Evil Queen’s dark eyes.

“… we are…” the Queen continued in the same tone.

“… one…”

“.. and the same.”

“Let us show you what a true love’s kiss is…” the Mayor said.

Emma’s mind was not functioning. All she could think of was that it was wrong. And hot and twisted and so disturbing in so many ways and yet she had trouble staring anywhere else but there. At how their faces were dangerously close. How their lips locked and their kiss deepened and they brought their bodies together seeking for more contact. A true love’s kiss… Because Regina truly loved only herself? How mistaken she was when she believed that a true love’s kiss would be something pure, clean. Because that sight was nothing like that. Because now the Queen’s mouth was on the mayor’s cheek and lower on the wounded neck, licking the wound, tasting the blood and the Mayor made sounds of pain and pleasure, until the Queen returned to the Mayor’s mouth, their tongues bathing in the Mayor’s blood, their blood.

They never separated. Their bodies were pressed so hard on each other’s and their hands so passionately roamed on the bodies, trying to explore whatever was offered in that union. Until their bodies gradually started to fuse into one person and when it ended, that person was wearing the mayor’s ripped suit and the evil Queen’s crown on her head and when she spoke her voice was double, like a too short delayed echo.

“And now your turn. Join me. Be mine.” The woman said and approached Emma with a scary sinister smile and skin stained with crimson. Her arm was stretched out, offering her hand to Emma and at the same time so much more than just a hand.

“Never!” Emma declined. How could she ever expect Emma to follow her, to join with her, submit to that twisted, wicked, evil creature? And then she saw it. Her own hand moving, against her will, disobeying her, betraying her, reaching out for Regina’s hand and she made a futile effort to pull it back, remove it from the fingers that wrapped around it, held it tightly, squeezed it with satisfaction. “No! No! No! I will never be yours! Never!” the blonde screamed and her scream was repeated again and again when she saw her own hand melt into Regina’s, become one with hers just like the two women had fused in one.

“But you already are. Mine.” Regina replied, making another step towards Emma, eliminating the distance that separated them and Emma could not run, the roots at her feet burying deeper in the ground as red lips came closer. How could something so terrifying be so sensual and seductive at the same time? Her mind said no with every ounce of her will but her body, oh her body sang a totally different song.

There was nothing left to do but give in. And god knew she wanted it. Give in to that smile, these brown eyes that could see all the way down to her soul, the feeling of their hands become one and that mouth that approached her and promised pleasure. And the moments seemed to last forever as there seemed to be so little space between them and so much time to cover it until their lips finally met and the blonde closed her eyes. And as she did, the feeling disappeared, the lips were no more on her own, the touch of their hands vanished so she opened her eyes again. And she yelped in surprise, shocked and blinded by the lack of any light in her surroundings.

“Holy fuck.” It was a dream. One hell of a dream. She sat up and let her hands wander around, feeling what her eyes could not see. The hay under her fingers felt so real, so wonderfully real that she sighed in relief, holding on to that sensation. Who would guess that one could feel so happy to be in that cell… But it was so dark. It never was pitch black.

And then there was light. As if in a magic way a torch was lit and Emma could see her cell, her hands grabbing the hay, her feet free from the roots and- oh no, nononono. Her pulse was pounding in her veins when she finally saw the fused Reginas, that hideous mix of the Mayor and the Queen she had just dreamed, approaching. Her hand was holding something, a head hanging from it as strong fingers had their hold on short black hair, and Mary Margaret- no Snow White- had no smile anymore, no gaze, no life. There was just a head, brutally severed from the body, with eyes rolled up in the skull so that the iris was hardly visible and a trail of thick blood, dripping on the ground. Regina gave a victorious smile, held her trophy high and spoke in that hellish double voice. “A present for the princess.”

Emma opened her mouth but no voice came out. Regina’s steps were deafening, as loud as the pulse banging in her body, in an unreal synch, and there was terror and disgust and sorrow. And the Queen walked, the door opened and she entered and Emma could feel every single one of the crimson drops falling on her boots, her clothes, her body, her face. The head held right over Emma’s and the Queen laughed. And Emma screamed a loud NO, one that made her throat feel as if torn apart from the inside. But the scream was muffled from something wet and cold and Emma’s eyes snapped open once again to find herself in the same place, but without Regina, only an enraged guard standing outside the cell with an empty bucket in his hands.

“Next time it will be my fist that wakes you up.” The guard blurted and walked away, leaving an Emma soaking wet and terrified, the dream still vivid in her mind.

A dream within a dream. “Inception? Really?” Emma whispered, her throat aching from the cries and her voice trembling. Her dreams were becoming more and more artistic, a really twisted and dirty kind of artistic but artistic nevertheless. Maybe this was another dream and that inside another and she was trapped into a sequence of dreams that she couldn’t escape, all having that double version of Regina that made her skin crawl. She sighed and lied back down on the hay bed and closed her eyes, ignoring the clothes sticking on her body. Oblivious of Regina, who stood further away, hidden in the shadows, and had witnessed all of Emma’s agony, heard all her shouts, enjoying every single moment of the blonde’s nightmare with an expression of utter pleasure and satisfaction. And still it was not enough.

Regina followed every bit of her sadistic side’s wish as she approached the prisoner, smirking only at the idea of the nightmare, the seed that she had sown into the blonde’s sleep.

“Nothing better than an evening nap, don’t you think?” she asked, resting her back on the wall right next to the cage. At the sight of Regina, Emma shot up and curled up in the corner, became a squirming bundle of a person, hugging her knees and looking at the brunette with eyes full of horror, as all the scenes she had just dreamed of kept marching one after another in front of her eyes. Regina used all her self-control to prevent a loud giggle from coming out.

After spending so much time with not just one but two Reginas in her dreams, the Evil Queen was the last person that Emma would like to see again for a really long time. She could swear that in any moment the Mayor Regina would appear as well and the nightmare would start all over and she could feel the tears gathering, right behind her eyes but she did not cry. There was something scarier than Regina herself, scarier than what the brunette could do to Emma and that was the memory of her hand given to the Queen, as she surrendered to the other woman’s will. No that wasn’t even close to what Emma used to be, the blonde realized. That woman was breaking her, breaking her will to fight, her will to resist. But she couldn’t allow it. “Get the fuck away from me.” Emma said and it was not an order or a demand. It was a plead. ~~~~

“Oh, but why would I do that? Can’t you feel it?” She said and savored the fear, that was fast overcome by anger and Emma’s eyes were now death trap, a luring magnet that Regina couldn’t but admire. Eyes so clear till the depth, fire burning in that sea of green. Would be so satisfying to break such a wild nature. “Miss Swan, we are finally coming so much closer, you and I. We are _bonding_.”


	5. Message delivered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everybody!  
> Chapter 5 is up and it is hopefully answering some of your questions that the previous chapters created. Plot is progressing too :3
> 
> Many thanks for the kudos! They never fail to keep my spirit high <3
> 
> Reminder: English is not my native language and I have no beta reader, so apologies for all the mistakes you might notice.
> 
> Disclaimer (as always): I do not even dream of owning any of the characters in Once Upon A Time. On the contrary, in my dreams, Regina owns me :P Soooo yes, the characters aren't mine, I'm just borrowing them for a while and once I'm finished I will put them back in their box.
> 
> Main pairing: Regina Mills x Emma Swan
> 
> Rating: M
> 
> Enjoy and if you feel like it, you can leave a review and tell me what you think ;)

** Chapter 5: Message delivered. **

Two days had passed since Regina’s last visit. Endless, boring, maddening moments in the _same_ cell where time flowed in the _same_ way, like a video on repeat. Emma hated more than anything to lose her freedom, but ironically she always ended behind bars. And now, the cell she was held in, seemed way nastier than any she had inhabited in the past. In Boston prison she knew her release date, she counted her months and days till her freedom, but this time, her future was unknown and was expected to be rather ominous. That was why, when Emma saw a chance, she didn’t think twice. ~~~~

During these last couple of days, the patrol was unusually rare. She hardly heard any footsteps anymore. In fact she never saw anyone else except the one guard, always watching over her prison. Emma wondered if now, with Regina having magic and all, probably so tight security was not required. So she expected the resistance ahead to be minimal and that was something she could effortlessly handle. They fed her efficiently for the last days too and she had rested enough for her batteries to be recharged. And on top of all the guard-dog was asleep. Resting his back against the wall while sitting down next to the cell, he had dozed off, his mouth open, invitation for every kind of bugs to nest inside.

The keys, what felt like the most desired and appealing keys in the history of capture, were hanging from a small hook on his belt. Emma had to turn into Mister Fantastic to reach them but she was more than just determined at that moment. She stretched her arm out of the cage, almost dislocated her poor shoulder at the attempt, but the keys ended up in her palm.

Carefully, she walked towards the cells door, unlocking it and exiting the cell in slow steady moves. Her mouth curved into a sneaky smile as she passed past the snoring guard and proceeded towards the passage. The way was illuminated by torches frequently placed on the walls and her vision was clear enough for her to see what waited ahead. There wasn’t much she could remember about the path they took when she was first brought in. Which let to every passage she followed to be a bet for the blonde. Luckily though, there were a few shady corners that she could use, in case things would turn ugly. Not large enough for her to entirely hide her presence, but enough for her to attack them when they least expected it. ~~~~

She met the first patrol soldier after the second turn. She heard him yell a ‘Hey’ towards her that could probably notify some of the others, so she rushed at him at the best of her speed, surprising him with a fast pull of his arm behind his back, and banged his head on the concrete wall. Then she waited a moment, just to make sure that more soldiers weren’t alerted. The passage was silent, except for a distant sound of footsteps. Emma relieved the unconscious man from his sword and continued ahead, leaving him on the floor with the present of a nasty headache on his wake. ~~~~

The woman examined the sword in her hand as she ran down the passage. It was too heavy. Far different than that one that she had used to slay that dragon-witch. So when she had to fight the next guard she did her best to make a good use of the weapon, swinging it with all her strength and the mastery she could achieve but in the end she threw it at him, knocking him with its hilt on the head and letting her kick finish the work. That kind of a sword would only slow her down. Her strong feature was quickness, not struggle to lift a weapon that weighed half her weight. That’s why she smiled so wildly when she searched the guard and found a fine dagger hidden behind his belt. Emma could have no clue about swords but daggers she definitely knew how to use.

The next few minutes passed with Emma just cautiously running down passages and corridors. A few random guards that blocked her way were dispatched easily, nothing Emma couldn’t handle. She had to stab two of them, which was rather unsettling, but certainly unavoidable. Not if Emma wanted her freedom and at that moment it was all that mattered. In the process, Emma had earned a few wounds of her own too. A couple of punches and a cut on her left upper arm, which was rather superficial. Nothing to worry about. She had gone through a lot worse in the past.

Soon, what appeared ahead showed that probably Emma reached the exit of the dungeon. The corridor was not so dark anymore and the more she proceeded the more bright it became. A man was standing ahead and she almost rushed to confront him but a really familiar sound made her change her mind and instead hide in a corner, the shadow keeping her safe.

“What do you mean she denied?” Emma swore mentally in frustration. She couldn’t have mistaken that voice with that usual edge in it. Regina was furious about something.

“She said no. She claims it’s hers and she doesn’t trade it or sell it to anyone. Even if it’s you, your Highness.” Emma held her breath, frozen in place. The smallest move and they would see her.  

“She can’t say no. She’s not allowed. It’s not hers to keep in the first place.” A pause. Emma could hear Regina’s boots and right after that she saw her too. Standing in front of the man, who - judging from his armor’s quality and his stature – didn’t appear to be just a soldier. “Who did you send?”

“Two of my best men.” He replied.

“Tomorrow you will go yourself. I don’t care what you will do. Threaten her, torture her, do whatever is needed. I want that book. I wrote it. It _is_ mine.”

“As you wish, your Highness.” He performed a deep bow and before his body came back up, her hand on his shoulder stopped him.

“Don’t disappoint me.” Her tone was calm but anyone could imagine what her lips never said. He didn’t reply. Regina removed her hand and he departed, leaving her behind. The brunette did not leave though. She stayed, but her mind seemed absent, looking nowhere in particular.

Emma took advantage of her position to examine the woman under the cloak of her hideout. Regina seemed to have lost something, something important. A book she had written? Since when Regina wrote books? The Queen looked entirely lost and Emma wondered what kind of thoughts kept the brunette so focused. Emma allowed her eyes to roam on the woman’s figure, admiring the view in front of her. These leather pants were certainly flattering her way more than any power suit could ever do. Not that the pencil skirts and the unbuttoned shirts looked bad on her. On the contrary, but there was something in the way that the tight leather hugged her body that made Emma’s blood pump a little feverishly in her veins.

“Just because someone finds something, doesn’t make it their property, right Miss Swan?” Regina finally spoke with a rather entertained expression, not even staring at the hidden blonde. “I doubt that there is a prison constructed yet that can keep you confined.” She added.

“It really is weird, hearing these words come out of your mouth.” Emma stepped out of the shadows and eyed the brunette in front of her, not a hint of fear in her gaze. _So much for escaping._ Her plan to flee had failed but Emma would not play the scared little girl in front of the Evil Queen. Not anymore. If she had learned anything in the last days that she spent locked in the dungeon was that she didn’t have much to lose anymore. “You found me in your palace, you tagged me as your property and threw me in your dungeon. I doubt that makes you any different Regina.”

“Didn’t my dungeon meet your standards?” Regina pretended a dramatic expression. “One would expect you to feel like home down there.” She raised her head to look at Emma under her wide-brimmed black hat.

“Where is Henry? Do you have him here? Locked just like you locked me?”

“What do you mean, in the dungeon?” Regina was studying the blonde. “I would expect you to notice if someone else would be down there with you dear. It wasn’t _that_ dark.”

“That’s true, it was quite lonely. One would expect the Evil Queen to not leave any vacancy left in such a luxurious dungeon. But the crowd of captured and tortured innocent people never came. Someone would believe you grow soft.” Emma said looking straight back at Regina.

“Oh no, on the contrary. Why litter my dungeons? I just kill them and save me the trouble.” Regina countered.

Emma felt a chill down her spine at the coldness that the words were spoken, but she tried to ignore it, returning to the pressing matters. “Where. Is. Henry.” Her hands moved on their own, grabbing Regina, pushing her against the wall. Her forearm under Regina’s jaw, threatening to choke her. The brunette gave no sign of discomfort though and that drove Emma even more furious. “Tell me!”

“There is nothing to tell you. He isn’t here.” Regina used her magic to shove the blonde towards the opposite wall. Her hand rubbed her neck but there was no rage in her move and her magic was rather _gentle_.

“That’s bullshit!” Emma was taken aback. That was unexpected. “You wouldn’t spend a moment without Henry. You couldn’t.” Emma’s eyes goggled as an idea passed through her mind. “Regina, you know where he is, right?” she whispered. “Tell me that our son is well. That he’s safe and… alive.” All color had abandoned Emma’s face, paler than sheet.

“ _My_ son is fine. He is alive and safe, just not here. He is somewhere else.”

Emma exhaled painfully. Henry was safe and it was all that mattered and Emma was so relieved that she would even let that ‘My’ pass. “What about my parents? Are they safe too?”

“Sadly yes, but I am working on it.” Regina said and started walking away from the entrance of the dungeon, out in the open of the castle’s property area, grinning as she heard the blonde run behind her.

“Hey! What do you mean by that?!” Emma caught up with the brunette in no time, pulling her arm so that she made the woman’s movement stall. “Regina! Be reasonable! You can’t just wander around killing people.”

“You think so?” Regina asked, a purple shine dancing in her eyes. It was the best way to demonstrate her weapons. White teeth flashed in what was an expression of triumph.

“So you have magic. Can’t you use it for anything else than destruction and death? There must be good kind of magic too.” Emma tried logic, but there was something awkward in the woman’s behavior. All this time and Regina hadn’t even tried to hurt Emma yet. Emma’s thin eyebrows almost met as the puzzled blonde examined the Evil Queen in front of her. “Regina, are you on medication? Antidepressants? _” Antirage? AntipsychoEvilQueen? Anything?_

Regina snapped towards Emma, sending a death glare that hit bull’s-eye, making the other woman take one step backwards. Okay, so the Evil Queen was still present, just hibernated. A nice Evil Queen. Emma could have laughed at the idea but at that moment it didn’t sound funny. More like creepy. ~~~~

“My kind of magic is not meant to be used for good. It is the darkest kind of magic. One that knows no way to heal or protect. Only harm.” Regina was looking ahead, as if recalling an old memory. “It was not a surprise that it suited so well a woman who had no kindness to share, no happiness to enjoy.”

“How about harming the evil ones? That could count for good deed, no?”

“I believe so. But you never asked if I want to do that dear.”

“Do you?”

“Absolutely not.”

Fast, without leaving any time for the blonde to react, Regina got a good grip on both of the younger woman’s shoulders. Emma felt her stomach reach up for her mouth when a purple aura wrapped around them like a magic blanket and the next moment they were standing back in the dungeon cell.

The guard was still asleep, having no idea of the missing prisoner, until the sound of the spell jerked him awake, making him lose his balance, ending up on the floor. When he realized who was in the cage with the prisoner, he shot up and stood right next to the cell, not even breathing, alive statue.

“Regina, you can’t keep me locked in here forever. I never did anything wrong, anyway!” Emma said, the room swirling around her after their sudden teleportation.

“I cannot even start to count the wrongs that you have done, Miss Swan. Especially to me.” Regina cornered the blonde, the space between the brunette and the wall minimal. Emma didn’t let the chance go, she brought her fist upwards in an attempt to hit the Evil Queen but her hand only met thin air as Regina teleported fast two feet away from the punch. Which led to Emma – who was still dizzy and unstable - landing on the floor, right in front of Regina’s feet.

Regina glared down, her hands placed on her sides. “Rumple must be out of his mind, suggesting that I should try to get along with someone like you.” She murmured, talking more to herself than to anyone in particular. Still, she tried her best to not hurt her prisoner. All she did was a spell that did not allow Emma to get up from the earth, the blonde struggling in her magical bonds.

Regina smothered all the need to hurt the blonde and this time was one of these rare occasions where magic wouldn’t be enough, where she desired to inflict pain herself, feel their body against her limbs. Similar to the desire she currently had to feel Emma’s body against her boot. Queens don’t use physical violence though, let alone kicking someone when they are already at their feet. So she turned around, closing the door after she exited the small cell. “And just to make sure that we won’t have any pleasant surprise of the same type in the future” Regina said and passed her hand over the door “I shall relief you of the temptation to escape.” With just that small gesture the door disappeared, replaced by normal bars, no way for anyone to enter or exit Emma’s prison. Emma swallowed the curse that almost slipped her mouth, her situation being rather difficult, there was no need to make it worse.

“I really wonder how you plan to win Henry’s love and trust if you act like that Regina.” Emma could not let her captor leave without a word. “Do you really think he would take your side if he would know the things you do to me? To other people too?”

“Henry should be wise and choose the person who really loves him over the one who pretends false love. I have told you more than once Miss Swan, genetics mean nothing. You made your choice long ago and gave him away. He is my son now, either you like it or not.”

“My parents will search for me. No matter where they are, they will not stop until they find me.” Emma hissed, and if looks could hurt, Regina would be in terrible pain already. “I know they have Henry with them.” Emma revealed. “It was you who told me, saying that he is safe. There is only one place where Henry could be safe away from you and that is with my mother. Snow White.” She sadistically added her mother’s name, knowing how much Regina enjoyed every time she heard the name of her _beloved_ stepdaughter.

“You never cease to surprise me, Miss Swan. It seems that there must be some tiny little brain in your thick skull after all. I am so proud of you.” Regina replied with a bored expression on her face. Then turned around on her heels and walked for the passage that led outside of the dungeon, but not before releasing the magic bounds on the prisoner and throwing the trembling guard across the room with a flick of her wrist.

For once more Regina realized how using magic on others didn’t feel like anything but pleasure, while casting her spells on Swan added some curious stinging pain to it, physical pain, sometimes so intense that didn’t even allow her to breathe properly. ~~~~

As she paced towards the exit, she took a moment to think of what the blonde had said. Yes, there was no reason for her to keep Emma in the dungeon. If Emma was to escape she would end up in a rather menacing Enchanted Forest that could certainly mean death for the woman. And she didn’t seem stupid enough to try that.

On the other hand, having the blonde around, walking freely in Regina’s castle was something the brunette was definitely not prepared for. Keeping her down there, locked in the dark dungeon, away from Regina’s life was a lot safer. For both of them.

 

~ ~ ~

 

_A few days ago, in the main hall of King David and Snow White’s palace:_

“We will have an army search throughout the Enchanted Forest and all cities. Every single corner, every single room!” Charming stood up while speaking, his speech full of determination. He was dressed like a true king, nothing on his appearance revealing the person that he used to be in Storybrooke. The crown on his head shone as he moved. On the table in front of him was spread a map, one that he had studied for a few of hours, along with his general, and then even longer alone, until the moment that his spouse entered the room.

Now both of them were discussing their options, their chances in finding their beloved Emma. Snow White sat next to him, listening, but didn’t even lift her gaze to him.

“What if something wrong has happened to her?” Snow said, her eyes still fixed on her hands, fingers trembling, just like her voice. “This place is unfamiliar to her. And there’s also the fact that we were away for so long. All kinds of evil rule out there.” She sighed. “If only we had a way to know if she followed us here…”

Charming took off the heavy crown and placed it on the table’s surface. He always did that, that thing felt so heavy sometimes, a real burden. He came down next to Snow and pulled her in his embrace, Snow burying her face on his broad shoulders. “We will get through this. You will see.” He comforted her and she turned her face to look at him, receiving a soft reassuring kiss. “If Henry is with us, then she came into this world just like him. Besides this is her origin. This world is the world she belongs to.” His voice soothing, his thumb wiping a tear from her cheek with a caress. “As long as we are together, we will find a way. Emma is strong, she won’t let any harm get to her so easily.”

“You truly believe that?” Snow believed it too, their daughter wasn’t the Savior for no reason, but she felt the need to hear it from him too. Hope filled her and her smile brought one on his lips as well. “We have searched for days and we didn’t find any sign of her.”

Charming pulled Snow on his lap. “You know our girl. She’s tough. She has a hell of a kick and she will fight if she has to. And we will find her, no matter where she is.” The look they exchanged told more than any words could have said. His hand passed over Snow’s short hair, his touch calming his wife. Her hand reached out for his jaw, barely touching him as he brought his face closer.

“This time I want to come with you. Help in the search. One more person could make a difference.” Snow always was left behind, not even once he had agreed with her coming along in their seek for Emma.

“No, Snow.” He cut her off. “You know that it might be dangerous and I would hate to put you in danger. Both of you.” He placed a hand on Snow’s belly, as if trying to shield the new life that was growing inside his spouse from any kind of harm.  Snow eliminated the space between their lips into a kiss that said hope and love and trust.

When the double doors of the hall opened and Henry walked in the room, accompanied by a woman wearing a crimson cape, Snow returned to her seat next to her husband.

“Did you find them?” the boy said, worry audible in his voice. He sat at the table right next to his grandmother, his eyes pinned on the map in front of him. ~~~~

“I’m sorry, Henry. All our attempts didn’t bring any result yet.” Charming said and Snow covered the boy’s hand with her own.

The boy’s eyes were moist, but he didn’t seem affected by the desperation of the grownups around him. “Emma is the Savior. She can’t die.” His words made Snow swallow down a sob. Pregnancy made her way more emotional than what she usually was. “What about my other mom?” Henry insisted on the one matter that nobody wanted to discuss. Regina.

“No, we didn’t have any news from her either.” Snow hurried to answer to the boy, squeezing a bit his small hand. A lie.

Ever since they had returned to this realm, Henry could tell when someone was lying. A delayed gift from his mother, which seemed to activate only when they left Storybrooke. One he never revealed of having to anyone. And sometimes, it proved useful, just like it did now, that Snow lied so obviously, earning a concerned look from her husband. “But we won’t give up.” Snow continued, ready to encourage her grandson. “There will be another search team, this time more people will be part of it.” Henry pulled his hand.

“I can also help in this.” Red, the woman clad in the crimson cape, added. Snow and Charming were her friends, but her offer wasn’t meant to only relief the couple from their dramatic situation. Emma had been her friend too, a really close one. “I could use my wolf skill and search for her scent. If she has been at a specific place then I will be able to recognize her presence.”

“Thank you Red. Your help means much to us.” Charming’s fingers traced over the edge of his crown as he spoke. Red could have been more than valuable ally in this. It was a mistake to start the search with people that were simple soldiers, instead of people who had real skills and truly cared about Emma and her safety.

“I will come with you.” Henry said, as if guessing his grandparent’s thoughts. “I won’t sit all day in here, when I know that you are out searching for my mom.” His serious face was cute, but not cute enough to convince them to agree.

“No, young man, you won’t.” Charming declined with the strict tone of a (grand)parent. “It is a very dangerous place for a child out there. The safest place for you at the moment is in here.” He explained. “Besides, someone has to keep company to your grandmother.” He said with a smile.

“Emma would have taken me with her.” Henry exclaimed.

“Trust me kid, when we find your mom and restore peace and safety in the kingdom, we will go out all the time, in our own small adventures.” Charming promised, standing up and going to the boy. “Besides, you will be the King one day. Someone has to teach you how to swing your sword!” He picked up his crown and placed it on top of the boy’s head, making Red and Snow laugh at the view of the boy and the wide heavy crown. Henry’s face lit up for a moment, before it was covered again by a frown.

“What about my other mom? The Queen?” It was a surprise for Henry to realize how much he missed Regina, when all he was about in Storybrooke was to persuade everyone how she was the Evil Queen who wanted to ruin everybody’s happiness.

“The Queen will be in her castle.” Charming said, before leaving time for Snow to lie again. He didn’t know why Snow chose to hide the truth, but he honestly didn’t like it.

“Did you search for her? To make sure she’s ok?” Henry asked, the only one persistent about Regina’s safety.

“Wherever Regina is, I am sure she is fine.” Snow replied. “And the longer she stays away from you, the better Henry.”

“That’s not truth. My mom loves me. She has changed! She’s not the Evil Queen anymore!” Henry hissed at his grandmother, who watched surprised the kid’s fierce response.

“You almost died by her poisoned turnover!” Red spoke, who remained silent all this time. Snow winced only at the thought of Regina using her poisoned apples again. History repeated.

“No she didn’t! I bit it on my own! To prove to Emma that Regina was the Evil Queen!” Henry shouted, making all three people around the table speechless. “But now I know that she loves me. She just doesn’t know how to show her love well. I want to be with her just as I want to be with Emma!”

Henry had stood up before even he stopped talking. When he finished what he had to say, he rushed out, to the sanctuary of his room. Almost running into Granny, who was about to enter the hall.

“What’s wrong with the boy?” The old woman queried, as she put her heavy crossbow on the table, right on top of the map.

“Don’t ask.” Snow said, who had a palm covering her forehead, trying to dispel the headache that was beginning to form.

“He is like Emma’s miniature.” Red said with a dreamy smile, recalling Emma’s wild character.

“Yes, just like Emma.” Snow repeated. Emma who she never raised, who she never scolded, spoiled, comforted, took care of. Snow was totally inexperienced when it came to kids, and Henry was a rather difficult case, especially when he was so passionate about _both_ his mothers.

_Snow stood up from her seat and declared with a loud voice. “You will never see Henry again. Regina, there’s nothing in you anymore, that I trust. No good left, nothing to offer to Henry or any other child. You have failed as a mother. Twice.” Regina had come to Snow, asking to see Henry, to make sure he is alright, but Snow denied. She knew that it was wrong, but still she denied. Because she was afraid. Afraid that Regina would take him away, when she had finally almost gathered all her family together. Almost._

“-ow” Pause. “Snow!”

Snow was abruptly pulled back to reality, her friends and her husband having a concerned look on their eyes. Especially David. Who was now holding her hand and asking her if she was ok.

“I am fine. Just worried, I guess. I should retire for a bit.” Snow stood up, meeting the approving nod of her husband. “I feel exhausted.” And she really was. She had hardly slept for days, her mind not letting go of her worry about Emma’s safety. But just as she was about to head for their bedchamber, a servant rushed into the large room.

“Your majesty…” he said, panting. As it seemed he had run all the way till there.

“What’s the matter?” It was James who had spoken, not Snow, even if the servant was addressing her. “Do you bring any news?” Snow’s face brightened with hope only to return to her normal grey mood when she heard the reply.

“I am sorry, your Majesty. I do not bring news.” He hesitated, his voice turning into a whisper, seeing his Queen’s disappointment. “Something unusual happened. One of the servants claims that her mirror is talking to her and –“ A gasp coming from both Snow and Red at the same time stopped him but he attempted to continue, his eyes diverting from Charming to Snow. “The mirror wants to talk to you, my Queen.”

 

~ ~ ~

 

Thanks for reading! :)


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